Indiana schools report shortage of teacher applications

GREENSBURG, Ind. (AP) – School districts across Indiana are having trouble finding people to fill open teaching positions amid a nearly 90 percent drop in the number of teacher licenses issued by the state.

The Indiana Department of Education says the state issued about 7,500 teaching licenses for the 2007-2008 school year. WTHI reports that number fell to 934 for the 2013-14 school year.

Licenses for teachers with at least 10 years of experience fell from 333 to 4 in the same period.

The dwindling pool of educators is raising alarm in some school districts as they struggle to fill open positions, especially in math, science and foreign languages.

School leaders say state funding constraints, testing pressures and a blame-the-teachers mentality are steering people away from education as a career.